I’ve Tested Thousands of Pairs of White Sneakers—This Is the Pair I Always Recommend

Give me a time travel machine, and I’ll punch in the number 1-9-9-7.  September 1997, to be exact: The weekend before the first day of school, which places me at the mall in a very midwestern town in Minnesota. My family and I are picking out my shoes for the year, but since I’m seven years old, my feet grow an inch approximately every two months, so this won’t be the last time. But it’s the most special since my mom is buying me a pair of sparkly black platform Sketchers, and they remind me of the galaxy and they make me feel cool and special.

Fast-forward to now: I’m a shopping editor who tries and buys dozens and dozens of shoes every year. I love shoes, but it’s hard to find a shoe that sparks the same kind of kid-like joy you’d find in 1997 in the Mall of America. But, spoiler alert, I did find that shoe recently. Last year, Everlane launched the ReLeather Tennis Shoe, a vintage-inspired sneaker created with recycled leather that’s soft, durable, and requires absolutely no break-in time.

The ReLeather Tennis Shoe — $110.00

I’ve been wearing my ReLeather pair for about two months: The first day I wore them I ended up walking through apple orchards in the San Bernardino mountains all day long. I forgot I was even testing out a new pair of shoes. Since then, I’ve worn them while taking my dogs for walks around the neighborhood, working out inside, and while running errands. They’re the first pair of shoes I grab when I need something easy and something that will go with everything without forcing me to think too much.

The ReLeather Tennis Shoe style is simple: It’s a rounded toe shoe with a low-ankle, and you can get it in four different colors (I chose white on white with a rubber sole, but you can get your white sneaks with papaya (yellow), gum sole (brown-beige), or pale pink soles for some contrast). These shoes offer nice bounce (but probably won’t give you the support you need out of a gym sneaker, or if you need something to run in), and maximum comfort. They’re also true to size (in my experience).

Whether you’re looking for a good pair of tennis shoes to relive the only kind of happiness brought to you by back-to-school shopping at a suburban mall, or just need a snug, high-quality pair of sneaks that go with your closet, I give the Everlane ReLeather Tennis Shoe an A+.

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